The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Gladson Schlupp has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around BA All Stars they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Nobody makes a documentary about a hamstring and everybody in the game fears one. BA All Stars will be careful with the return date, because the second one is always worse than the first.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 May 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Israel Aceves is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I watch every BA All Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Inter Allies runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadFrancis Kudus loses the manager who believed in him
Boardroom$102.3K taken back off the BA All Stars table
It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at BA All Stars is running low.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
In brief
SquadIsrael Aceves falls out with a teammate over standards
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Gladson Schlupp has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at BA All Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Mohammed Djiku was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad5 Apr 2027
Israel Aceves falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I watch every BA All Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Inter Allies runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Jeffrey Atiemo
The mood at BA All Stars has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at BA All Stars is running low.
A 2‑1 win over Heart of Lions, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Afriyie Appiah has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Thomas Mohammed trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
25 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings15 Mar 2027
Jeffrey Atiemo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.72
A mark of 7.72 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad15 Mar 2027
Abdul Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
24 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The board have said in public what they had been saying in private. Results between now and the next meeting decide it, and everybody in the building knows the arithmetic.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jeffrey Atiemo did not need any: 7.67, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at BA All Stars is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Beaten 2‑3, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
21 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I watch every BA All Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Inter Allies runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
Beaten 5 times, with 5 saves for company. Goalkeepers carry these scorelines on their record whoever actually caused them, which is the quiet injustice of the job.
In brief
SquadGladson Partey falls out with a teammate over standards
20 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The board’s statement ran to three sentences and one of them mentioned results. Gladson Schlupp has managed long enough to translate: win soon, or the next statement is shorter.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Gladson Partey will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around BA All Stars the goodbyes have quietly begun.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Harrison Waris has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I did not go to Inter Allies to sit and watch. I want to come back to BA All Stars and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 23 matches say the rest.
Squad8 Feb 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Gladson Partey is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Harrison Waris is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Jan 2027
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Jeffrey Atiemo provided it, and the 8.67 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Two or more conceded in each of the last 5 matches. It is not one mistake repeating itself, which would be the easier thing to fix; it is a different one every week.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about BA All Stars and Ashanti Gold in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Jeffrey Atiemo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
“I watch every BA All Stars game from here. That says everything about where my head is.” The loan at Inter Allies runs its course, but his heart never made the trip.
In brief
SquadGladson Partey falls out with a teammate over standards
13 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Jeffrey Atiemo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Abdul Bukari falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amos Schlupp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
11 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
The terraces7 Dec 2026
The mood at BA All Stars has turned into something else
Supporters who sing when it goes badly are supporters. Supporters who gather afterwards are a problem, and everybody inside the building knows which of the two this now is.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Harrison Inusah and BA All Stars agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Position 16 and 5 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Jeffrey Atiemo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.77
A mark of 7.77 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
At 21 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around BA All Stars are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Gladson Partey, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.67
A mark of 7.67 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad23 Nov 2026
The manager has not finished forgetting Mohammed Djiku's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
A brace, and Francis Kudus takes the afternoon — 8.49
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Francis Kudus provided it, and the 8.49 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Position 14 and 4 points, and the table gets read bottom-up in this part of town. The calendar has stopped being a schedule and started being a countdown.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 9.17 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
Jeffrey Atiemo, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 8.19
A mark of 8.19 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 11 goals between BA All Stars and Liberty Professionals, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The hardest thing about being 21 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Afriyie Appiah did not need any: 8.01, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Afriyie Appiah has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Conceding is one thing; the response is what tells you about a dressing room. Afriyie Appiah had BA All Stars level again within 1 minutes, and Great Olympics never got to play with a lead at all.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
It needed Afriyie Appiah to find the net to bring anything home at all: 1‑1 against Great Olympics, and half the dressing room will call it a point won.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Amos Schlupp trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
In brief
SquadWords at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Player ratingsMohammed Djiku spends the afternoon fouling
0‑3 against Wa All Stars, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Boardroom19 Oct 2026
Nobody left the BA All Stars dressing room in a hurry
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Harrison Asamoah is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Harrison Inusah scored, and precious little else went right: 1‑2 to Aduana Stars, and a quiet walk to the dressing room.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Patrick Djiku has improved at 26, which nobody expected
Careers are supposed to plateau and then decline, and the players who ignore that are always the ones who were listening on the training ground. 4 points of it, over months, at an age where the direction normally only goes one way.
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at BA All Stars, and 0 appearances in 6 say he has earned the hearing.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about BA All Stars and Hasaacas in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
1 boys move up, and somewhere in the building the people who coached them at twelve are quietly having the best morning of their working year. Nothing about this shows up in a result and it is why the academy exists.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Words at BA All Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Abdul Bukari is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 18-year-old it feels ownership of. Gladson Partey has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Francis Afful has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at BA All Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what BA All Stars can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from Great Olympics for Gladson Partey was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Thomas Mohammed was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.